CA swinging towards Moody

TOM Moody has emerged as favourite to succeed John Buchanan as
national cricket coach, with Australia appearing to have gained a
jump on England for the former international all-rounder's
services.

A Cricket Australia panel headed by Mark Taylor, set up to find
a coach to replace Buchanan when he steps down after the World Cup,
is believed to have narrowed the search down to a short-list of two
- Moody and Buchanan's former assistant Tim Nielsen.

Nielsen, now head coach at CA's Centre of Excellence in
Brisbane, is popular with most Australian players after serving
under Buchanan. But after preliminary interviews, it is believed
Moody has become the leading candidate owing to the fact he has
greater top-level coaching experience than Nielsen, a former
wicketkeeper-batsman for South Australia. Moody, who is also well
liked by current Australian squad members who played with him at
the tail end of his career, is already an international coach,
having been appointed to the Sri Lanka job two years ago after
narrowly missing out to Greg Chappell in the battle to coach
India.

Before that, Moody had several years as coach of Worcestershire
in English county cricket.

Moody has also been linked to the England coaching job, with
Duncan Fletcher not expected to retain the post after the World
Cup. Moody is known to have a fondness for England, after the West
Australian's years there as a county player and coach, and due to
the fact his wife is English. On top of that, England would likely
be able to offer more money for its national coach than
Australia.

However, Australia may have stolen a march on their potential
rivals for Moody's signature. England are yet to confirm they are
after a new coach, and are not believed to have begun the interview
process for candidates. Moody would also face stiff competition if
he pursued the England job from Peter Moores, who beat him to the
post of England's Academy Director when Rod Marsh stood down.

Meanwhile, NSW has hailed the Andrew Johns Twenty20 experiment a
success, with a combined attendance of nearly 30,000 watching his
two games for the Blues in Newcastle and Telstra Stadium.

Despite rumours Johns was paid some $40,000 for his two matches,
the real payment is believed to be around half that figure.

In any event, Cricket NSW was delighted with the publicity
generated by having the rugby league star play. While it is
virtually impossible to make money out of state cricket games
through gate receipts, chief executive Dave Gilbert said the large
crowds had helped limit the damage, with the possibility that the
state body could break even out of Wednesday's night's match at
Telstra Stadium. The publicity generated by Johns's participation
would also be a boon for sponsors, Gilbert said.

"Right from the start we said it was a promotional stunt,"
Gilbert said. "The media coverage was unbelievable. We're delighted
with the publicity it generated for state cricket, and with the
crowds that turned out to watch him. If we've convinced one kid to
take up cricket, then it's achieved its purpose."

NSW, meanwhile, have recalled paceman Mark Cameron after a
four-year absence for their Pura Cup match against Victoria at the
SCG from Tuesday, with fellow quick Scott Coyte dropped after one
match. The 25-year-old Cameron played one match for the Blues in
the 2002-03 season.

With five matches left for all teams, NSW are in fourth place on
the Pura Cup table, but are only one outright win behind leaders
Queensland.